In the early hours of Tuesday morning, Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd of starving Palestinians gathered near a U.S.-supervised aid distribution point west of Rafah, southern Gaza, killing at least 30 and wounding over 200, according to medical sources and eyewitnesses.

The attack targeted civilians in the Al-Alam area, where thousands had assembled in the desperate hope of receiving food. Hospitals in the south reported receiving 24 bodies, with many of the wounded in critical condition. Victims included young men known to the community, among them Ibrahim Khaled Abu Zurqa and Basel Shaban Abu Alwan.

Eyewitnesses say Israeli troops fired directly at the crowd, repeating a pattern seen in recent weeks, where aid seekers have become targets rather than recipients of relief. This latest massacre brings the death toll near Gaza’s aid points to 49, with over 300 injured, since the so-called humanitarian mechanism was introduced on 27 May.

The "Gaza Humanitarian Relief Foundation," created under Israeli and U.S. supervision, has been condemned by both Palestinian authorities and international agencies. UNRWA’s Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini called it a diversion from the devastation inflicted by the ongoing military campaign.

As Gaza’s humanitarian system edges closer to total collapse, the people of Rafah continue to queue for aid under the shadow of drones and gunfire, left to face hunger, and now death, in silence.